It's a Hit
by feistypaants
Summary: Kristoff is a Little League coach. Anna is a single mom. Modern Au. Written for a friend's birthday! [Kristanna] [ModernAU]
1. Chapter 1

"C'mon, Aggie, you're going to be late!"

The young mother was running through the parking lot, a duffel bag bouncing violently on her hip, her hand dragging a little boy behind her as she ran. He was about six, and panting as he used his tiny legs to their fullest capacity.

"Mommy I –" pant "-can't-" pant "keep up!"

Anna paused, and turned around with her lip caught between her teeth to hoist the little boy up on her hip. He was getting to be too big for her to carry, but she would be _damned_ if she were late for the first meeting and practice. It had taken her a lot of negotiating and crying to get him onto this team, and she knew how bad it would look if she weren't on time.

When they got to the entrance to the park, she hastily scanned over the board to find out which field their team was practicing on.

"Okay... field... ten?! That's all the way in the back..." She sighed, shifted her son's weight to her other side and began her trek to the back of the park. After all was said and done, she found herself jogging up to the rest of the parents barely one minute before the meeting was scheduled to begin.

"Cutting it a little close there, aren't you?" The redhead glanced up to see a strange man approaching her, an unamused expression falling over his features. "You know, lots of people want on this team. If you make this a habit, they might give your spot to someone a little more dedicated."

"And who are _you_?" she asked, heat and stress causing her to be much more easily irritated than normal. Why would she need to explain herself to _this_ guy?

He smirked at her. "Kristoff Bjorgman."

She remained looking unimpressed.

"The coach."

Features falling into a red flush of embarrassment, Anna dropped her face into her hands. "Oh, gosh. I'm sorry. I just... I overslept and then Agdar was nervous and -"

The blond laughed, shook his head and glanced down to the clipboard in front of him.

"What?"

"You're Anna Arne, yeah?"

She blinked a few times, propping a hand on her hip. "...Yes?"

A smirk pulled at his lips as he flipped to her paperwork. "You're the one who caused a huge fuss to get on this _specific_ team, right? Who cried a lot and -"

He looked up just long enough to notice that her face was burning so brightly that she probably could fog up glass, and stopped his teasing. Letting out a heavy sigh, Kristoff dropped his hands to his sides when she moved to speak.

"Look, I know it's... totally embarrassing that I did that," Anna started, tugging on the bottom of her braids. "Aggie he... he's sensitive. He's been teased his whole life -" Freezing, her hands shot forward to grasp onto his arm. "- Did you know they had a _kick a ginger_ day at his school? Kick a _ginger_ day! How many little redheaded boys do you think go to his school?" When the blond just stared at her confused, she threw her hands up in the air. "Two! There are _two_!"

Noticing the other parents staring onward, Kristoff placed a warm hand on her back to lead her a little further away in order to gain _some _semblance of privacy. She crossed her arms protectively over her chest. "Plus... His dad isn't in the picture anymore. And... Well, he spread some rumors about me when he first left. But I can't afford to move and..."

She trailed off, biting her lip and shaking her head. "I'm sorry, you probably don't care about this." Chuckling, Anna swiped a hand under her eyes. "I know I was embarrassing and rude and I probably took the spot from some other little boy but I just... I heard that you were really supportive and didn't tolerate bullying and I wanted to make sure he was on the best team."

With a soft smile, Kristoff clapped his hand on her tiny shoulder. "I get it. I'm... well I'm not a dad, but my little brother looks at me like one." He moved to stand next to her, pointing his free hand out to the field where the kids were already playing and laughing. "The little one – right there... that's him. Gabe, his name is."

Anna was more than a little confused. The coach must have been close to his thirties, but his brother was maybe seven, at most.

"My ma adopted him pretty recently. I'm the one he clung to, apparently. But I love that kid."

That made more sense.

They turned to face one another again. "He gets teased about not having parents. So I get it. That's why I run this team the way I do. Zero tolerance." He shot her a grin, earning a warm smile back from the redhead. "I think it's amazing what you did for your son."

Swiping under her eyes again, Anna couldn't hold herself back. She darted forward, wrapped her arms tightly around his waist, and buried her nose into his chest. "Thank you," she mumbled, her words choked back by tears.

It was his turn to blush now, his arms awkwardly flying out to the side and barely patting her on top of her head. "U-uh, yeah... sure." He moved to push her away from him, completely averting his gaze. "A-anyway. Meeting. Practice. Thanks to you we're now five minutes behind schedule."

She smiled, laughed to herself and stood straight up and down. "Sorry, sorry. But thank you."

Kristoff turned to walk back towards the waiting parents and kids, waving a hand over his shoulder. "Don't mention it."

The meeting had been simple enough. Practice on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and games on Saturdays – and once a month there would be a meeting for the parents. When it came time for all the kids to get to know one another, and all the parents to chat about town gossip, Anna had stepped off to the side to sit alone on the bleachers.

All of the parents knew her, she was sure, and judging by their snickering glances in her direction, wanted nothing to do with her. She didn't care, though. It didn't matter what they thought, after all. She knew it wasn't true, and so did her son. _That_ was what mattered.

She pulled a leather planner from her bag and started flipping through the pages, nibbling on the end of her pen. Was she really even going to have time for this? She had mentioned it to her boss before, and they said they would give her longer hours on Mondays and Wednesdays to make up for the lost time when there was practice. But then _that_ meant she would have to pay for a sitter on those days, and she wasn't sure she could _afford_ that and –

"Mind if I sit here?"

Almost jumping out of her skin, Anna's whole head darted up to look at the tall blond standing in front of her. "Oh, no, please. Be my guest."

He sat quietly, rubbing a hand at the back of his neck while she turned her eyes back down to her book.

"Not a fan of socializing?"

"More like not a fan of being made fun of." She gestured vaguely in the direction of the other parents, and shrugged. "They all," she paused to put her pen down and make small quotation marks with her fingers, "_know_ me. And they don't like me."

Kristoff blushed, wondering silently to himself how anyone could not _like_ her. She seemed sweet and kind and like she was willing to do anything for her son. That was... pretty admirable, he thought. He tried so hard to remember if he had heard anything about her. He _was_ a bartender, after all... Hearing things kind of came with the job.

"Wait – was your husband -"

"_Ex_ husband"

"... _Ex _husband... Was he that... Westergard guy?"

Stiffening under his gaze, she turned a sad eye towards him. "Ah, so you know me too."

His hair bounced around his ears as he shook his head. "No. I know _of_ you. But I never really listen to rumors."

Anna took in a heavy breath as he smiled at her, and found herself getting lost in his gaze. He might be the first person who _didn't_ judge her right off the bat because of what her lying, manipulative ex-husband had said. But before she had a chance to say something, she saw her son running up towards them.

"Mister B! Alex needs help!" He glanced up and shot his mom a beaming smile. "Hi mommy!"

Waving, the redhead sighed. "Hi baby. Having fun?"

"Lots!" He heard laughing on the field, and immediately ran up the bleachers to grab at Kristoff's shirt. "C'mon, Mister B!"

Anna waved at Kristoff as her son dragged him off, staring onward with impressed eyes as the blond scooped him up under his arm and ran out towards the field. Not many people around here were kind to her – much less _Agdar_... With a sigh, she turned back to her planner. She'd have to find some way to thank the coach.

The practice took about an hour and a half. All of the boys were just far too eager to get to know one another to play, and Kristoff could barely manage to get control of them long enough to teach them the proper way to hold a baseball and pitch. They mostly had just been throwing the ball back and forth, but Anna couldn't stop herself from tearing up on the bleachers.

It had been so long since she had seen her son smiling so brightly – even longer since she had seen him enjoy himself. Between being bullied at school and his father leaving, Agdar had dealt with a lot in just his short six years of life, and she could not have been happier that they finally found something he might _love_.

After giving a small pep talk, Kristoff moved to dismiss all the kids, giving them all high fives as they made their ways back to their respective parents. He waited for his brother to say farewell to all of his friends before hoisting him up on his shoulders. "All right bud, let's get home. You know ma hates when we're late."

Anna had stood to step down the bleachers and meet her son, who came barreling at her to wrap his arms around her legs. "Hi honey," she mumbled, her eyes glancing up from under her lashes to keep an eye on the blond coach (who was being stopped by all the mothers, who were _obviously_ swooning over him). "Did you enjoy yourself? Do you want to come back?"

The little boy let go of her and jumped up and down in place, a huge smile stretching his cheeks. "Yeah! I loved it! I wanna do it all week!"

Placing a hand on his head, Anna smiled and knelt down beside him. "You have no idea how happy that makes me."

She risked one look upwards, and caught the coach staring at her, a grin on his lips.

She _had_ to.

"Hang on one second, okay? Mommy will be _right_ back."

He nodded and sat on the bleacher beside her bag, kicking his feet and smiling.

"Kristoff!" she hollered, jogging over to him and watching as he perked up and turned to face her fully.

"Hey there, Red." He used his free hand to push his bangs up and out of his eyes. "Agdar have a good time?"

She was breathing just a little heavier when she stopped in front of him, a dumb smile plastered on her face. "Yes, he loved it. Thank you." Anna paused, caught her lip in between her teeth, and let out a breathy laugh. "L-look... this is going to sound _super_ presumptuous... But would you like to get a drink with me sometime?"

His shoulders relaxed, and he let out a soft laugh. "Yeah. Yes. I would like that a lot."

Pressing her lips together to stop her jaw from hurting, she nodded. "Great! That's... that's really great. Okay. Um..." She dug in her pockets to find her pen and a sheet of paper, and scribbled down her number. "Just... let me know."

The little boy atop his shoulders reached forward to accept the paper, and Kristoff waved as he walked off, his dopey grin still tearing at his cheeks.


	2. Chapter 2

Anna hated to admit it, but she rushed home as quickly as she could. Not that she thought he would call right away, but there was no denying that she was antsy. It had been four years since Hans left – and therefore, it had been four years since _anyone _called her and asked to spend time with her. Well, except...

She shook her head, picking up her sleepy son out of the car and carrying him back with her up to the apartment. He groaned into her shoulder, nuzzling into her warmth and yawned.

"C'mon baby boy..." she mumbled, placing a kiss on top of his head. "Bed time..."

She took a heavy breath, juggling her bags and her son, with grabbing out her keys, and managed to unlock the door and step inside. It was a challenge that she had perfected, putting down all of her bags without disturbing her sleeping child. Sighing and moving swiftly, she had gotten to his room and woken him up just long enough to change him into pajamas before tucking him into his bed.

"Good night, baby. Sleep well, okay?"

"Mommy... I like mister Bjorgman." Agdar was fighting to keep his eyes open, and Anna pulled the blanket up to his chin.

"I like him too, buddy," she smiled, petting a hand over his hair. "Get some sleep."

It took barely a minute for him to fall asleep, and Anna moved out to the main room of the apartment to get herself ready for bed. She was only able to afford a one bedroom apartment after all was said and done, and she had figured that it was more important for Agdar to have his own room and privacy, so she bought a cheap pull out couch for herself.

Rolling her shoulders, the springs creaking under her foot as she adjusted the cushions, Anna yanked with all her might to tug the old contraption out of her couch. Sure, she hadn't gotten a decent night's sleep in years, but she didn't really have much of a choice.

After plugging her phone in, flopping down on her bed, and cuddling up under the blankets, Anna finally took a minute to breathe and think. What if he _did_ believe the rumors? What if he _did_ just want to sleep with her? What if…

She groaned and threw her hands over her face, pressing the heels of her palms into her eyes. She didn't know him well enough to _know_ he wasn't just in it for sex, but something about him seemed… different? Honest? Her phone vibrated on the arm of the chair, displaying a number she didn't recognize, and Anna snapped out of her thoughts.

Reaching over and squinting at the bright light in the darkness, she answered. "Hello?"

"_Hello? Anna? It's… Kristoff."_

She gulped.

Men only called her this late for…

"Hey…"

"_I'm… I'm sorry for calling so late. I… Oh jeez, I'm embarrassed."_

Anna laughed behind her hand. "Why are you embarrassed?" Her cheeks were flushed. This meant one thing or another, and she didn't know which way it would go.

"_L-look I… I couldn't stop thinking about you. I know it's some sort of unspoken rule to not call for a few days but I just really wanted to talk to you and i know you suggested drinks yesterday but then I got to thinking what about dinner you can't drink on an empty stomach that's silly and yeah anyway I just wanted to know if maybe you'd kind of like to possibly maybe-"_

"Kristoff. You're rambling." She bit at her bottom lip.

"_Yeah, wow. Yeah I am. Okay. Um. Tomorrow. I mean, are you busy tomorrow? Do you want to get dinner tomorrow? With me? ...Tomorrow?"_

Anna was grinning like an idiot behind her hand. "Tomorrow, you said?"

He laughed.

"... Yeah. Sure. I… Well. Let me see if I can find a sitter but -"

"_Uh, Yeah… So I asked Gabe if he wanted to have a playdate with Agdar. My mom offered to watch them. I mean I'm now realizing how creepy that is but I'm sorry. I was just excited to ask you and I was pretty hopeful that you'd say yes."_

Her cheeks were flushed, smile dimming down into one of happiness instead of giddy joy. "Y-yeah. I'm done work at four. Should I just… come by?"

"_Yes! Great. That's… yeah, great."_

He gave her an address after she scurried out of bed to find a pen, and after a few more minutes of chatter, Anna realized that it was getting later than she had liked, and suddenly cut him off. "Oh, gosh. I'm sorry. I really need to get to bed. I have to be up in like four hours but thank you… I'll see you tomorrow!"

"_Oh man, I'm sorry. Yeah. Um. See you. Goodnight, Anna."_

"Night…" Hesitating as she hung up the phone, Anna continued gnawing at her lower lip. She was uncertain if she would be able to sleep… but she knew she had to try.

She dropped backwards onto the bed, holding her phone close to her chest and smiling into her pillow. These feelings hadn't hit her since she was seventeen and Hans had asked her to go out with him. She felt butterflies in her stomach and kept hiding her face behind her hands.

She felt like a teenager again.

The next day had gone by so painfully slowly.

Anna didn't think she had ever, _ever_, had a day drag on quite like this before.

As soon as she got off, she raced over to Agdar's school, picking him up from the after school program they had, and drove rather hastily over to the unknown address. There were nerves settling in, making her stomach do flips again as Agdar bounced happily in the backseat.

"I get to hang out with Gabe _all _day?!"

She turned around as they pulled up to the curb. "That's right buddy! Until Nine!"

"Do you think I can sleep over?" He was practically standing in his seat to get closer to her and ask.

Anna tapped at her chin, rolling her eyes up and around. "I don't know buddy! You're gonna have to ask Gabe's mom! But… just in case…" Reaching down in the footspace of the passenger seat, she pulled out a small backpack. "I brought your pajamas!"

Agdar smiled and giggled, bouncing in his chair and watched his mother get out of her seat and came around to let him out of the small Toyota. When she picked him up and then set him down on the ground, she noticed a tall blond waving at her from the doorway.

"Mister B!" Agdar hollered, running forward to throw himself at Kristoff's legs.

He hoisted the kid up and threw him over his shoulder, watching Anna sort herself out and start the walk up to his door. "C'mon, buddy. Let's get you inside." Placing him down onto his feet, he patted him on the back before directing him towards Gabe's room.

When Anna came over the threshold, he quickly spun on his heel and coughed, a blush coating his cheeks. "Hey-" he jumped back a little, glancing up and down her form. "Wow. You look… Hah. Should I dress nicer?"

"Oh gosh, no," she started, looking him up and down. "I just came from work in an office so I'm still just in my work clothes." The blush on her cheeks only deepened when he grabbed her hand and smiled.

"Oh, uh. I assume you want to meet my ma, right? Since she'll be watching the kids." Kristoff led her through to the backyard, where a bunch of kids were running and screaming, and a large, round woman was hollering at them.

"'EY! Jackson! Get back here, kid! You'll break your neck!"

Anna couldn't help but laugh, immediately silencing herself when curious brown eyes turned to her. She held her breath when the woman came darting over. "Hello! Wow!" Kristoff's mother grabbed at her hands and twisted the redhead back and forth. "You're a cutie! Are you my Kristoff's date for tonight?"

Biting at her lip and avoiding the woman's gaze, Anna nodded meekly.

"Wonderful! And where's your little boy?"

Kristoff noticed Anna's nerves and pointed to the back. "He's already with Gabe." He peeked down the hallway and hollered for the two of them to come out, and after a short introduction and some well-wishing, Anna and Kristoff were climbing into his truck and on their way to a casual restaurant for dinner.

The car ride was awkward, with a little chatter and a lot of awkward laughter, but they finally pulled up in front of a small, local restaurant, and Kristoff darted around the side of his car to help her down the single step under the door, laughing slightly as she stumbled over her own feet. "S-sorry," he mumbled, rubbing at the back of his head.

Anna waved him off, muttering a small "Don't worry about it," and took his hand in hers as they walked towards the restaurant.

In about twenty minutes, they were seated with drinks in front of them. Just a beer for Kristoff, and strawberry daiquiri for Anna (who had felt so embarrassed in her order that she almost didn't get anything). They were just waiting for food when he reached over to grab her hand.

"So..." He ran his thumb over her knuckles. "Tell me about… well, anything, really. Your choice. Tell me something."

Anna blushed, bit at her lip and took another sip of her drink. "Do you want backstory or fluff?"

He grinned. "Backstory. Lay it on me."

One deep breath, and she started. "So… my parents died when I was fifteen. That was kind of the start of things."

His eyebrows knitted together as he listened, mouth pressed into a firm straight line.

"My older sister was eighteen. She got a hold on all of the inheritance. But… we weren't close. I don't know what it was, but she never really spoke much to me after my fifth birthday." Anna took a deep breath, laughing to herself. "Oh gosh, this is so dramatic. I'm so sorry."

Kristoff shook his head, held her hand tighter and smiled. "No. It's okay. Go on."

She offered a small smile in return. "Okay… so… When I turned seventeen, I met Hans. He was twenty-three." When the blond made a face of disgust, she laughed again. "I know. Right? Creepy. But anyway, he was kind to me… when I had no one else. So I fell for it. We started seeing each other and then… I got pregnant."

He swallowed, looked down, and took a swig of his beer. "That explains you having a six year old at your age."

Pressing her lips together, Anna nodded. "Yeah. Anyway… Elsa basically told me if I didn't get rid of it she was cutting me off. But Hans promised to marry me as soon as I graduated. So I thought it was true love and… I wanted to be married and have a family. And Hans was wealthy… so that was a positive." She paused, twisted her fingers in the bottom of her braid, and shrugged. "I told Elsa to go to hell, that she didn't know what love was or how to be a supportive sister, and took off with Hans."

Anna took another sip of her drink before swiping a hand under her misting eyes.

"Hey… you can stop if you-"

"No. No I'm okay."

He placed his other hand over top of their intertwined ones, and nodded. "If you're sure."

Smiling again, Anna nodded back. "So… Yeah. So we got married… at the courthouse. One of my coworkers was our witness. Things were okay for a little while. I had Agdar right before my nineteenth birthday. Hans… hated him."

"How can you hate your own kid?"

"Yeah… I later found out that he was just… doing the wife and kids thing… for appearance. He didn't want to marry me, and he definitely didn't want a kid. He punished him… physically."

Kristoff's free hand rose to cover his mouth, his eyes giving away the darkness of anger that was rising up in his chest.

She squeezed his hand. "I… wouldn't let him do that to my baby. Not… not mine." Pausing, Anna shivered when she felt people approaching the table. Food was laid down in front of them, and the two separated their hands for the waitress to set down their plates. The couple thanked them quickly, and turned to take small bites of their dinners.

"So… What happened next?" he mumbled through a mouthful of spaghetti, turning his eyes up to her.

Swallowing her bite, Anna nodded. "Right, yeah so… He was neglectful. That wasn't so bad. But then I started getting in his way when he wanted to get to Aggie… and his anger got directed at me. Which was fine… I'd rather get hit than have him shake my kid."

Kristoff nodded, letting her pause to take a bite of her food.

"Anyway, I started seeing a therapist who… Well, who kissed me once. He was gentle and warm and I accepted it-" she stopped him before he had a chance to interject. "- I know, He was just taking advantage of his position and me being vulnerable. I learned about that when he threatened me after I wouldn't sleep with him."

She took a few more bites of her food, shrugging. "After Agdar turned two, he walked out on me - well… kicked me out. Said I had been sleeping with the therapist. In fact, told the whole town I had been. I guess my _lovely _doctor had told him."

Kristoff dropped his fork with a loud clang onto the plate, and ran his hands through his hair. "A… Are you kidding me?"

"It gets better," she laughed, sitting up straight and shrugging. "He handed me about a thousand bucks. and told me to get out. You know how long you can survive on a thousand bucks with a two year old?" Shaking her head, she clasped her hands together on the table in front of her. "Barely a month."

He couldn't stop himself from reaching across the table and holding tightly onto her hand again. She interlaced her fingers with his.

"I found a cheap one bedroom apartment. It's not in the best place in town, but it's only about four fifty a month. So… I can afford it. I sleep on a couch, though." Anna laughed, squeezing at his hand. "Basically… Everyone hates me. I haven't talked to my family in seven years. The last four years my only contact has been men trying to sleep with me…" She sniffled. "Honestly I'm kind of scared that you just want to sleep with me, too…"

Kristoff swallowed the lump forming in his throat, looked at the table, and then back up at the redhead. Stretching his other hand over the table to grab hers, he did his best to catch her gaze. "Anna…"

Her breath hitched in her throat, chest freezing and hands shaking.

"I promise… I'm not like that. I want more than that. You set the pace here." He lifted her hands to his lips, pressing a soft kiss against her knuckles. "However slow or fast or whatever you want to take it, I'm following. I promise."

There was a silence that fell between them, the only thing shared was a smile.

"Thank you," she managed, a few minutes later.

"You're welcome."


End file.
